Gingrich Has Raised And Spent The Most

$1.8 Million Has Gone For Attorneys, Pr

WASHINGTON — In the first six months of this year, House Speaker Newt Gingrich raised more money for his 1998 re-election race than anyone else in Congress--and promptly spent it all.

Although supporters were urged to donate to promote Gingrich's conservative vision in Congress, virtually none of the $1.8 million in campaign money he has raised since January went to anything campaign-related.

Instead, the money was spent on lawyers, political consultants, direct marketers and public relations. The spending represents a vast financial effort to polish Gingrich's image and pay his huge legal bills at a time when he faced attack by those in and outside the Republican Party.

"Newt's spending in the first six months was driven by his ethical problems and his attempts to resurrect his leadership," said Dwight Morris, a consultant with the Campaign Study Group, a firm in Springfield, Va., that analyzes campaign spending. "Not everyone in Congress has the kinds of problems Newt does. He is speaker of his House, and if he wants to maintain that role, he's got to smooth things over. That's what's driving his spending."

Gingrich faced six-digit legal bills stemming from the House ethics case against him. A coup attempt within his party prompted him to increase spending on political advisers and public-relations consultants. He also paid dearly for a direct-mail campaign designed as much to raise money as to garner grass-roots support for Gingrich across the country.

"Newt has had to pay off legal bills from the smear campaign that has been waged against him," said Michael Shields, a spokesman for Gingrich. "That's not just the ethics case from this year. It's also over the 80 other ethics cases against him. Some of the legal bills came in before the election and some after. We have to be prepared to fight."

At a time when members of Congress are only beginning to solicit donations for their 1998 campaigns, Gingrich has spent more in six months than most others will need in the two-year election cycle for re-election. In the 1996 election, an average member of Congress spent about $675,000 on a successful campaign.

"Newt has spent literally everything that he has taken in," Morris said. "That is extremely unusual. Most candidates try to squirrel their money away."

J. Randolph Evans, an Atlanta lawyer who headed Gingrich's defense team in the ethics case, received the largest share of the money, $233,000. Ed Bethune, a Washington lawyer, was paid $174,000.